New washing machine leaving black marks on clothes

I often wash my whites on 60 degrees and always find black streaks on one or two items (comes off with vanish). I followed advise from one of the comments on this site and lowered the rpm speed to 1000. It’s done the trick - 60 degrees on 1000rpm and finally not a single black streak to be found!

(It is a terrific forum, isn't it!)

I found it was mostly my cotton things: t-shirts, sheets. I suspect it has to do with the nature of those threads to grip and stretch while spinning? Not an engineer, but I'm sure there's a scientific explanation. I don't have it in me.

I'm still mark-free by reducing spin speed to 1000rpm (from default 1400) every wash.

My LG front loading washer & sdryer are and have been giving me the same headache. Thanks all for this great forum.

some particulars:

10 year old W/D machines in great condition. No black gaskets, seals, door liner or anything.

Black streaks on pullovers that look like they're caused by rubber or plastic being scrapped on the cloth. There are no smudges. It ONLY happens to my polo type pullover shirts - except 1 time: when i had a tee shirt in with the polos and it got streaked. The polo shirts are always small loads. And it doesnt happen every time but often. but I often run an extra spin dry in the washer! - maybe the culprit.

It has never happened with any 'regular' load, colors or whites, which are usually larger loads.

I am going to apply the rotation speed fix and i have a feeling that'll do the trick. Thanks!

I've been puzzling over this for years. Why only my Polos?!

What is evident from all the commentary is that it (at least in a certain category of cases) is connected to the human: People mention getting a new machine and it happens again. And it's obviously not a universal problem so not all machines or persons have it happen. I'm going with spin speed.

Thanks. There's no need for black grease 😂 But even so it shouldn't be possible for grease from the bearings to get into the drum because they are sealed from the drum and water.

If the drum bearing seal fails, then potentially it could, but the weight of all that water should force any grease out through the back of the drum where there are two drain holes designed for that job.

So if the drum bearing has failed and grease could get out, a mu h bugger problem would be that water would run into the bearings. This should cause a rapid deterioration of the bearings with them becoming noisy and eventually collapsing.

But if there is black grease in there then it can't be totally rules out as a source.

hi andy

saw this on youtube

black grease bosch bearing

good point Andy, and these eco friendly shows are always telling you to use vinegar and other products to clean appliances as well instead of propriety cleaners as its good for the environment - even one show i watched suggested a cup of vinegar or cup of bleach on the top rack of the dishwasher every time you load the dishwasher , so that eventually over time would most probably perish the rubber seals and pipes let alone what it could do damage to the stainless steel interior

No Andy, I've never heard of, or seen any damage to hoses caused by detergent, especially the soap dispenser hose.

Yes bleach can damage rubber. I've been on at our lass for years to stop pouring it down the sink and bath as it causes the rubber o rings and seals in the plumbing to rot - and then leak. They create black smears when you handle them, which is similar to the problem here.

Also, vinegar can damage rubber too.

good call about the black rubber seal that holds the front and rear split tub, i never thought about that.

I think I read somewhere that bleach used regularly can perish rubber and rubber seals, thats why they say dont use bleach in washing machines and dishwashers.

washing powders (especially for whites) have bleaching agents I don't know if bleach and bleaching agent is the same thing? - but I cannot see them bringing out powders with bleach in that damage the seals and rubber in washing machines would they?

If it had a black rubber seal between the two halves of the drum that could potentially rot and cause marks.

I used to see hoses and seals going tacky and breaking down, but usually on really old washing machines like 15-20+ or when people used to use that nappysan to treat dirty nappies. I presume virtually no one uses cotten nappies any more u less maybe it's come back into fashion for some reason.

I can't imagine any proper detergent causing any adverse effects though. Maybe if there are some sort of chemicals getting onto laundry that may cause some problems.

been thinking about this - could it be deteriation of the black hose that goes from the soap dispenser drawer to the outer drum tub? - say if like when that black rubber deteriates (I cant spell that word and the spell checker isnt helping either lol but hopefully you know what I mean ... like the black rubber hose breaks down) and then the black rubber from that hose from the soap drawer to the tub that is breaking down (due to chemicals such as the soap detergent liquid or powder and fabric conditioner) puts a lining of yucky black rubber on the outer drum tub and on fast spin speed the clothes are being drawn through the holes of the stainless steel drum and just scraping on the outer drum and picking up the black marks.

If it type of machine where drum can be halved in two I would be having a real good look at that outer plastic tub inside for any evidence of black marks and also checking the black hose from the soap drawer to outer plastic tub and if perishing / breaking down would replace that.

I would be also looking at the copper pipe of the house. Is that coming from the mains cold water with high pressure or is it coming from the header tank up in the loft/attic? if it is coming from the attic header tank could inside that storage header tank be dirty water? - then the flexible rubber hose from the copper pipe to the washing machine cold water inlet pipe , what is that made of? the older black rubber hose type or the newer grey hose? - if old black one the pipes you can pick up in electrical shops for a fiver , try changing that - even with the grey newer pipes over times the pipes I have seen as fine but when I have taken off the pipe the rubber o- seal at each end have perished over time, that would let black marks into the washing machine, whilst that rubber inlet hose is off I would pull out the little filter inside the cold water inlet valve of the washing machine (a pair of long nose pliers to pull it out) and inspect that fully, any flecks of black rubber/gunge or limescale in it? - water could be going past that filter and picking up the black specks and taking it into the washing machine.

Then you have (under the top lid of the washing machine) normally black rubber hoses from the 2 water solenoids to the soap dispenser drawer (1 black rubber pipe is for the wash cycle the other pipe is for the fabric conditioner rinse cycle, they can perish / break down over time too.

Re- if you had to split an outer tub apart to check inside that , before reassembly where the original seal is then some very high quality a bead of waterproof (with antifungal) sealant the one you apply with a cartridge gun , a good amount of that should seal it up nice and proper ,

But if it is the case that the outer tub is yucky with perished black marks and gunge and dirt then the longest intense wash at 90'c with no washing in the drum and no detergent or fabric conditioner used and over 3hr wash at 90'c - or even better if the machine has a dedicated "Drum Clean Cycle" - can really work wonders if you even tried a few of them to dissolve all the black dirt and gunge that has built up in the machine and then a maintenance wash of 90'c once a month to keep it clean.

Good luck.

Hi wdc. Bearings shouldn't leak into the drum. They are sealed in the back of the drum and protected by a seal in front. They don't have oil in them either, just a bit of yellowish grease. If anything inside the bearings could get into the drum then water would also easily get into the bearings. This would quickly wash away grease and make the drum pretty rumbly and noisy.

If manufacturer doesn't supply drum bearings, then they are designed to be unrepairable. I would say it's not worth trying to circumvent that. You would need to replace not only the bearings but the seal if front of them that keeps out the water. If they are in a sealed drum you are unlikely to be ble to buy such a seal.

Also you would have to try and seal the two drum halves back together when it's not designed to be done and the drum bearings could be difficult or even impossible to knock out.

hi Andy

are you sure it is not ball bearings leaking oil in the drum i have bosch WVG30461GB 5 years old

i have the same black marks like those jeans. i am going to remove boot gasket soak in bleach

if that does not work i am going to try and split the drum change bearings

i would need to get another 5 years for this work. bosch wont sell bearing where would i get bearings and seal

and what is the best glue for this job

Hi Andy, thanks for all your time and explanations. It's really appreciated.

My Bosch machine is a washer/dryer but we don't use the dryer. In my case I'm certain the marks were the lint/gunge build up and they did generally wash out (eventually). And I'm sure that many of us do put a lot into the wash which is going to push the contents into the crevices more.

Since February I've been reducing the spin speed to 1000 (defaults to 1400) and haven't had any marks at all. My previous machine was about 20 years old and I wonder if the spin speed even went that high.

Each time someone finds this thread and comments it does remind me to go and give my machine the once over LOL.

Take care everyone. 🙂

There used to be extremely common a long time ago on Hoover washing machines when all of their door seals were black. But as they are now all grey, it shouldn't really happen. However, inside a washing machine drum, the only way that laundry can get pinched, or suffer friction damage, is if they get trapped in between the gap between the door seal and the drum and get dragged around.

My experience is that this tends to happen much more on washer dryers, and also if a drum is overloaded. But by overloaded I mean if it has so much laundry inside that items are forced up against the door glass.

It is possible for laundry to be dragged on gunge and grime inside the main outer drum (underneath the revolving in a drum), but this only happens if either the drum is very loose on its shaft, and almost scraping on the outer drum, or during spin when certain items of laundry get expressed through the holes through centrifugal force. This can cause laundry to scrape on the outer drum. But in both of these instances the marks would be "spotted", in line with the holes in the inner drum.

Hi All. I think that marks like the ones shown in all the previous photos, where there are long dark lines, can only be caused by the laundry being dragged on the rubber door seal - or more accurately being trapped in the gap between the door seal and revolving drum and dragged around.

This seems to be much more common on washer-dryers (are the photos from washer-dryers?) because there is a vent built into the top of the door seal on a washer-dryer where the hot air from the dryer section is pumped into the drum. Laundry seems to catch on this more easily.

Inside the drum, laundry is isolated from everything except the door seal. The only other source for marks on laundry is either redeposited grease and grime from not using enough detergent, something in - or on - the laundry, or something inside the outer drum just underneath the stainless drum.

The latter can manifest itself with small spots on the laundry. Sections of the laundry (especially cottons) get forced through the small holes in the drum by the centrifugal force of spin and can scrape on gunge or even some object underneath. The latter of course only produces spots because only the small part of laundry that's pushed through the holes gets affected.

Ake's previous suggestion of reducing spin speed which seems to have helped him, and microelk is interesting. It may be that the faster spin speeds facilitate the problem. It's important to note by the way that only cottons should be spun at full speed. All other fabrics need slower spin speeds.

Thank you Ake! This seems to have done the trick. I've changed the RPM to 1000 each wash I do and haven't had any streaks since. After all the advice above, it has been a good reminder to regularly maintain the washing machine bits and pieces by giving it all a clean every now and again. But I'm almost certain it's the spin cycle speed, and the marks did seem to be lint based.

Hi. If you mostly use 30 degree wash cycles the washing machine could be disgustingly filthy inside. Can you see any gunge if you pull back the door seal where it meets the lip of the drum?

Read this article - laundry not getting cleaned in washing machine - coming out with marks

I have a hoover washer only 7 month old and doesn't matter what setting dark or colours or white all come out with oily marks on normally a quick 30 mins for darks n colour but white an hour on 60 wash?

Have had same issue with black streaks on clothes for a long time, just like pictures posted by microelk. Have a top load whirlpool machine. Thoroughly cleaned the machine and black streaks continued to return. Was ready to purchase a new machine. Found a solution. Read the installation drain system instructions. Have now changed the way we drain the wash machine. Switched the drain system to laundry tub drain system as per manual instructions. Believe the problem was that we never had a Siphon Break kit installed with the previous drain system when first installed. Since then, laundry has no black streaks!!

Hi all, I had the "black streaks" problem for a long time and had unsuccessfully tried all the tips mentioned above but finally found a solution about a year ago. If you ensure that in the spin cycle, the Rotations Per Minute - RPM - is always below 1100 RPM, then there'll be no more black streaks. It seems the agitation of a really fast spin cycle (in my case, a Miele where 1600 RPM is the standard setting on the cotton cycle) either projects any black gunk onto the clothes from crevices in the machine or propels the clothes into the crevices where the black gunk is. I now choose a cycle that has a lower spin RPM or manually turn down the number of RPM to 1000 or 1100 per minute. It's an extra manoeuvre each time, but it's better than the dreaded black streaks. Obvs you still have to clean rubber rings etc fairly regularly.

Hope this helps

The gunge that collects inside washing machines that causes dirty marks on laundry is the same gunge that causes bad smells. I would strongly recommend that you read the following article carefully as it describes what causes this horrible greasy guns inside washing machines and how to prevent it. Once it has got a hold of your washing machine you will not be able to get rid of it so you need to act quickly to prevent it getting too bad What causes the gunge inside washing machines?

We have the same maddening issue. It happens mainly on bigger loads or with bigger items like duvet covers, but not on every wash. We have a Bosch Serie 4 WAN28201GB. No mould on dispensing tray, no tumble dryer, mainly use 40C washes. Logically it must be the seal as the marks always look streaky and same colour as the grime that accumulates in the door seal. There is a weird part of the seal at the top with 4 crevices (see pic - the shallow v shaped bit), which must have a purpose I can't fathom, but the crevices were thick with the black/grey residue. It must come out on some washes where the loading or balance is particular, and likely during the spin cycle as otherwise it would wash away. They always look like 'fresh' marks as soon as the wash is finished.

Thanks Brown. You might be on to something with the mould, but I reckon it's in the hoses/pipes or something. I don't have any on the dispenser because I cleaned that some time ago, and for the first wash in a few now I got marks on my white sheets again. Not as bad as previously, but still shouldn't be there. I've started leaving the door open and the dispenser open after finishing washing so that they dry out a little quicker. Bosch did contact me after I posted on productreview, but they were suggesting things like low water pressure not getting enought water in to the dispenser, residue in the drawer/detergent not dispensing completely (it doesn't, but I don't understand why the marks would be black). If it keeps doing it I'll call them, they've offered to send out a technician.

I have a Bosch Serie 4 machine and have recently been experiencing similar marks especially on my duvet covers which have to be sprayed with pre-wash and put back into the machine on a rinse cycle which thankfully removes the marks. I have been cleaning the rubber around the door seal and lip of the drum every time I use the machine but the marks still appeared. However, today I removed the soap dispenser and the underneath was covered in black mould so I gave the dispenser a good clean with HG mould spray and I even cleaned the inside especially the top where the water enters with a tooth brush to remove all black marks. Ran a clean cycle to remove the HG cleaning product as it contains bleach and then put a white wash on and no black marks so I think it was the black mould in the soap dispenser causing my problem.

This happened to me today in two loads. A pair of white jeans is completely covered in dark grey long streaks that look like grease. After reading all of the above, I think it was due to a full load and the jeans (as well as some towels) being dragged around the crevice of the rubber door seal. There was quite a build up of dark grey gunk, and I grabbed a cloth and also cleaned the clear plastic door build up of lint. It left quite dark marks on the cloth.

I'm just hoping prewash stain remover will get the marks out, othewise I guess I'm dying the jeans.

Machine: Bosch WVG28420AU 8kg/4.5kg Serie 6 Washer Dryer Combo; Age: about 8 months old.

Hard water can cause a build up of limescale and scum I if you don’t use enough detergent, which won’t help, but I wouldn’t expect marks to be black. Black marks are more likely to be from black mould or a rotting water seal.

Try dragging and rubbing a white cloth all the way around the door seal under the lip of the seal to see if anything is there. Especially in washer dryers at the top. Also carefully secs in the door seal near the door all the way around and underneath.

I am very interested in reading that other people are having the same problem with black streaks particularly on whites. I have tried numerous cleaning products to no avail. I to the dry the deal after the final wash. I never suffered with this annoying problem before when living in a soft water area, unlike now where it is hard water, is this the problem?

Hi there, I'm having the exact same issue with the exact same washer dryer ... just wondering if you managed to find a solution in the end? Thanks Freddie.

I would imagine it would be hard to get rid of motor oil from a washing machine as it doesn't attach to the water. So the oil may continually keep marking laundry.

Could this be from motor oil in a previous washload of laundry?

Hi. If you mostly use 30 degree washes I'd expect the washing machine to be covered in gunge and slime inside. Have you checked the 2 articles I linked to a couple of replies back?

I have a hoover washer only 7 month old and doesn't matter what setting dark or colours or white all come out with oily marks on normally a quick 30 mins for darks n colour but white an hour on 60 wash?

Take something like a white cloth, preferably made of the same type of material that is being affected. Then drag it firmly all around the door seal between the lip of the drum and the gap. Try to rub it all the way around, and try to drag it on the lip of the outer drum too. See if you can get any marks that correlate to the marks you are having trouble with. Inside a washing machine this is the only place that clothes could get dragged against something. Otherwise they are totally contained within the inner drum. With some fabric such as cotton's, when they go on a fast spin the laundry does get pressed through the holes in the drum and in certain circumstances can pick up marks. However these marks will be small spots correlating with the holes in the drum. Apart from these two possibilities it is not possible for laundry to be physically marked by anything else.

I have the same issue. Its not a greasy stain.

It's like it's been pinched between black rubber and a black mark is left. I've managed to lighten the stain after copious amounts of stain remover and scrubbing, but it's just made marks on another load.

I have a bosch.

Try carefully going through all the points and advice in the following articles in case anything helps, and to eliminate the various possibilities listed

Washing not getting clean in washing machine

Grease marks on clothes after washing

I am having exactly the same issue with a Bosch Serie 6 WVG30461GB washer dryer.

It leaves black marks that can sometimes be partially scraped off or using a sticky tape to get 70% of it off. However it is really starting to p*** me off because it has ruined a couple of my expensive work shirts now.

Before every wash I run a drum clean on 90deg, clean the rubber sealant thoroughly, and check the filters. I have also used cleaning products but to no avail- the problem remains. Had a Bosch service engineer check it too. I will never buy another Bosch washing machine again as there is clearly an issue with them.

I will try the above suggestion of running at a lower RPM.

Failing that, I will buy a laundry bag to put the clothes in before washing.

Hi all

I had same problem with two new Siemens 500 washing machines. Found a smear of black residue at back of drum after a 1500 rpm spin which was default spin for a 60 degrees. So, I experimented with different spin speeds and found that setting it at 800 or 1000 rpm there are no marks or oily residue. Not ideal as washing comes out slightly wetter but I think I solved it.

Hi

Yes I am also having this problem , I purchased a Samsung Eco Bubble in November and am having lots of light items ruined due to these black marks

Its driving me crazy , white polo shool shirts bed linen , the machine itself is clean i have carried out the maintenance wash I , I have had the engineer out who said he cannot find anything wrong with it , I am at my witts end

Hi. I’m fascinated to hear where TKH got to with this as I literally have had exactly the same scenario with a Bosch washer dryer which ruined countless white / light items of clothing with black (almost oil like) marks. It was less than two years old but we replaced it as it was destroying our babies clothes and bedding. We ended up replacing it with a Siemens washer dryer but the exact same problem is happening again.

We had countless Bosch engineers out for the last machine and all said it was exceptionally clean so that’s the issue and like TKH, I don’t overload it and I run 90 degree empty washes to clean it out! Now wondering if it’s our water / pipes...

Any ideas? Any help GREATLY appreciated! Thanks!

I have to say it was a long time ago but I never forgot the lesson it taught me about not making assumptions. Back then it was a Hoover tumble dryer and it was black grease from the dryer's front bearings. It's probably quite unlikely these days but just double check that the marks are only appearing after the wash. Check the other things I mentioned too and hopefully you may find something to report.

Yes I do use a tumble dryer too. I didn’t put the last load in so didn’t see it when it came out of the washing machine, only the tumble dryer

However with my previous machines I had similar marks and it was definitely from the washing machine as I was washing in the Summer and not using the tumble dryer

I’ll try the cloth suggestion and I will check the clothes before they go in the tumble dryer and report back

What could it be in the tumble dryer that’s causing the marks and how do I get it sorted?

I’ve got another plumber coming round on Friday as I didn’t want to go back to Hotpoint again until I’ve ruled everything else out

Tina